Come and Go

This last week has just flown right by! My Momma came to town on Monday and we have been having such a fun time. If we weren't cooking, we were out shopping. Early in the week we hit up the antique mall where my mom insisted on buying a chandelier for Grace's room. (I have been eyeing this thing for AGES! It was originally priced at $200, but we got it for only $50!! What a steal?! I'll definitely post a picture of it once it is installed.) Thanks Mom!

Thanksgiving was perfect. Great food + Great company = GREAT DAY! While growing up our family never really had traditions, but I am glad to report much has changed. For the past few years my Mom has spent Thanksgiving with us. This of course is a huge blessing since she is the best cook I know! I helped her prepare a FEAST and we invited Jeff's parents, his uncle, and the Wilks to share the bounty. After our bellies were filled nigh unto bursting, we all flopped on our big, comfy couch to watch football. (Some of us took turkey induced naps, me included.)

The girls (Mom, Alexis, Gracie, and myself) decided to brave the "Black Friday" madness where we nabbed some good deals. I just couldn't bring myself to go before dawn, besides there were still plenty of goodies around eleven. Christmas came early for Grace and I. Mom loves to spoil that child and I can't resist allowing it. (Right, like I have a choice.) Grace got a tricycle and I got a Cricut. Are we spoiled or what? My mind is about to explode with all of the possibilities. Thanks SOOOO much Mom!

We put the tree up today. My house is a complete disaster, but at least I can check that off my list. I am especially not looking forward to tomorrow... because not only do I have to face this mess, but Mom and Alexis leave for Utah and I will be left all by my lonesome. All the excitement and buzz of a house full of family will suddenly end. Alexis has been with us since July and I am sad to see her go. It will take some time before Grace and I adjust to not having ol' "Secsis" around. Okay, I must change the subject before I start shedding tears!

I am going to have to detox from all of the comfort food I have eaten this week. Mom has made her signature biscuits and gravy TWICE and tonight she made Puerto Rican rice and beans. (Good luck Jeff!) Add that to the Thanksgiving feast I've eaten on for days and my body is SCREAMING for some fruits and veggies. (Plain...not cooked in bacon grease, butter, or brown sugar!) Oh, and I don't even remember what it's like to have a sip of water. It's amazing...I actually WANT to eat healthy foods right now. What unlikely timing with all of the holiday goodies out there.

Well, that was my week in review. Oh, one more thing...the movie Australia...LOVED it! Hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving. Bring on the Christmas spirit!!!!

Yet another shot of Grace posing...this time modeling "Bob Bob" jammies Mamaw bought her.

Ah, the classic hand on the hip pose. Looking good girls!

Christmas comes early for Grace.

Entertaining us at family night.

Front rolls. Look out Nastia Liukin!
Thank you Mom for an AMAZING week!

Sis, I'll miss you! Bad attitude and all!

Ready for a Little Brother or Sister?

Grace loves her little cousin Corbin. When he is near, you can bet Grace is by his side. She watches everything that Jamie does and tries to help out. If she isn't helping she is offering her love with tons of hugs and kisses! It makes me so happy to see her nurturing side and I am eager to see her as a BIG sister. Help yourself to these cute pics of Grace in action....

A Model Child

While rocking out to some Christmas tunes (Frankie you are the BEST!) and making a half hearted attempt at straightening the place up, Grace's cuteness struck again...



Her outfit warrants explaination: Let's just say Grace's bladder can hold more liquid than her diaper, so when she wakes up in the morning her PJ's are soaked. (How annoying is that?) Luckily, the shirt and diaper look is all the rage in Milan and New York. Gracie, being the fashionista that she is, took the outfit one further and added a chic polka dot sock. Who says you need 2 socks and combed hair? (OR pants for that matter!) I grabbed my camera and begged her to strike a few poses. This BABE's shirt couldn't be more precise...she is ADORABLE!

Observations

Grace is going from a baby to a child at what seems to me like warp speed. If I blink my eyes I may miss something. I am constantly suprised by what she knows, says, and does. Here are some of my motherly observations:

{What she knows...}

When a television show goes to a comercial she starts asking where the "mote" is so she doesn't have to watch them. (Kids these days! How are they going to learn all the catchy jinggles and bug you about buying them toys?)

If she bumps into you she says, "sorry."

You can hand her something and have her deliver it to the right person, put it back, or throw it away.

She can now go up and down our spiral staircase. This worries me to no end.

She can work Jeff's iphone to look at pictures.

She gets water from the water machine and dumps it on the floor. (Wait, should this be impressive? It is actually quite annoying!)

She knows the names and sounds of many animals.

{What she says...}

When she is asked what her name is she answers, "MEOW."

She is polite and says "please, thank you, and welcome."

If someone toots (Jeff or Alexis. What??? You think I will never admit to it?) she says, "WHOA!"

She so expressive! She uses the words like pretty, cute, cool, and awesome all the time.

When I change a stinky diaper she holds her nose and says, "PEW."

She calls a kiss... a "piss."

"NO" is her FAVORITE word.

She commonly says things like, "Oh Gosh, Dang it, and Heck."

{What she does...}

She LOVES her some "Bob Bob." (Spongebob)

I keep a little purse in the car that is stocked with a wallet, keys, and cell phone. When I take her out of the car seat she starts asking for her "purse."

She is so loving of her cousin. She smothers him with hugs and kisses. When he cries she wrinkles her brow and asks, "Okay?"

She is SUPER brave! Before she jumps she can even count to 3!

She bullies Alexis! I don't know why. It must be a love/hate relationship because right after hurting her, she gives her a hug or kiss. (Sometimes she humps her. I have NO idea where she got that, but it cracks me up. What do you say to that? "Grace, STOP humping Alexis!")

She likes to talk on the phone.

She repeats EVERYTHING!

She understands the structure of a sentence even if she can't say all the words. She'll say something like this, "Shmm mmm un mmm TOY!" The word she can say always comes at the end.

Can we say DADDY'S GIRL?

Well, that is just a TASTE of what keeps me on my toes! That's our Little Miss Personality!

I LOVE those curls! It's a wonder she doesn't get everything she wants! We are ALL wrapped around her little finger though.

Just like Daddy! They are BOTH stinkers!

Our little nudist. Oh, to be young again! You can have a dimply butt and it be considered CUTE!

Back on the Main Land

It's good to be home! We had such a BLAST while on vacation, but I am happy to get back to the real world. Did I really just write that? I suppose my excitement is due to the fact that the holiday season is here! The rest of the year will fly by, packed with all sorts of fun. (Now for a little confession: I have already decorated Grace's room for Christmas! I did it the day before Halloween...I just couldn't wait! It was kinda funny dressing her for trick-or-treating in her room with a Christmas tree and tensel everywhere.) I just LOVE this time of year!

Grace added all kinds of words to her vocabulary thanks to our trip. Beach, ocean, and luscious to name a few. She has gotten so tan..."brown as a biscuit" as my mom would say. She is our little adventurer! I am so blessed to have such an AMAZING family. I am thankful for this vacation and the opportunity it gave us to bring ourselves closer to one another. Here is the final recap on our family trip...

Plays hard and falls hard. The poor baby's sleep schedule was so mixed up. It made for a pretty cranky 20 month old at times, but also this cute picture.

We made some yummy breakfasts...banana pancakes are my favorite!

Josh makes a beautiful mermaid! It's fun to be a kid...
My hunky husband! I love this man.

The Hunt Family

Our Little Family

Aloha

Somebody needs to tell these Hunt's that it's okay to RELAX on a vacation. We have been full throttle! Don't get me wrong...I am having the time of my life, but I welcomed the change of pace today. Here's my recap........(drum roll please)

I could SO become a beach bum! Monday we traveled the island in search of a good snorkeling spot and Grace got to see the ocean in daylight. She had to warm up to the feeling of sand between her toes, but within a few minutes she was so comfortable she decided to TASTE it. Eeeww! Kuck Ka Grace! (FYI...those are MY toes!)

I love that I married a Rock Star. Haven't you ever wondered what the soundtrack to your day would sound like? This day it was the "Brother Iz" version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World." on the ukulele.

Tuesday was an ADVENTURE! We rented kayaks and rowed up a river to 3 incredible spots. Grace was such a trooper despite having a swollen eye. (possibly a result from rubbing snot in it OR allergies) She just hung onto Dad's back as we made a mile hike to a beautiful waterfall.


The second stop on our kayak trip was at the "Fern Grotto." Here we enjoyed a picnic at the foot of this amazingly lush spot. Grace struck a few poses and Jen and I jumped the rail to get a closer look of the grotto.

Our final stop was a place where we could jump off a small cliff and rope swing. Luckily we all survived.

Yesterday we played on the golf course and Grace was an excellent caddy.

Following golf, Grace had a blast playing in the sand and I was in heaven capturing the moments. Enjoy....

Greetings from Hawaii

This post comes to you from the BEAUTIFUL island of Kauai. That's right, one whole week of Hunt hilarity! I love it when we can all be together, no matter the location...but I've gotta say Hawaii is the icing on the cake.

The flight wasn't as big of a deal as I had anticipated. Grace did SO well. The trade off was the fact that our luggage didn't make the second flight and was delayed until this afternoon. It was pretty inconvenient, but...what are you gonna do??? Did I mention I am in Hawaii? That really puts things into perspective!

Here are a few highlights from today:

Corbin has the right idea! This is what vacation is all about...relaxation!

The view from our balcany! We had a rooster wake us up at sunrise and the sky was beautiful. Grace woke up too and EVERY time the rooster crowed she would say, "DUCK!" I couldn't have been any sleepier, but the dang rooster kept going and Grace kept repeating!

Humidity! Sigh...I left all hope of a good hair day in Arizona.

Grace rockin' a shirt from "Aunt Shi-Shi." Thank you delayed luggage! What you can't see is that Grace is bare bummed! (We packed her diapers.) Luckily, the bags came before any accidents did.
What a cute family! Enjoying the sunset on the beach.

Grace's 1st dip in the ocean. Stay tuned...

Playing Catch Up...

So, for you lovely people out there who have checked out my blog in the last few days... you may've noticed there have ACTUALLY been some new posts!! YAY for me!!! I have been trying to catch up on some of the "Hunt happenings" for the last little while. Why is it the longer you put off blogging, the longer it takes to get the motivation to do it? (I guess that is true of anything you put off.) I just woke up the other day and said to myself, "Today is the day!" I certainly may not have gotten ANYTHING else done, but I DID update the good ol' blog.

The other morning I forced myself to go to the gym and when I came home I was greeted by the one of the cutest/funniest sights I could lay my eyes on...


She looked like a naked little Einstein! So to show me just how much of a smartie pants she is, she got a hold of my highlighter and did this...
Way to go Gracie!! It makes a momma proud to see her baby studying the words of the apostles. (I know I am crazy to admit this, but a little part of me cried to see my perfectly clean page...just waiting to be marked by beautifully straight highlights...GRAFFITIED! I know, sick, right?) It was really no big deal though. After all, could anyone be mad at this...

Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

This year I went back to my roots. I seriously must have been a witch at Halloween for half of my childhood. I almost went in the opposite direction with this costume and really played up the gross factor, but Jeff vetoed and pushed for the "sexy" witch. This was my best attempt.

Our Fairy Princess

Dreams really come true when you have your very own fairy princess! After much debate on whether or not Grace would be a duck for Halloween, I finally decided on making her this costume...and I am so glad that I did. Isn't she darling? I can't figure out which part is my favorite. Is it the HUGE flowers, the tutu dress, the striped tights, or the Chucks? I must give a BIG shout out to OHM, the photog extraordinaire! She was so great with Gracie and even let her devour her stash of Teddy Grahams just to keep her happy. Oh, the price we pay for a good shot!